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Collision kills Turlock man and injures Hughson woman

One person died and another was seriously injured in a two-vehicle collision near a walnut orchard in a rural area of Turlock (Photo contributed).

A fatal collision Tuesday afternoon in a rural part of
Turlock was caused by one driver running a stop sign at a high rate of speed,
the California Highway Patrol reported.

The collision claimed the life of Juan Carlos Mata, 42, of
Turlock and critically injured Jacklyn Frost, 58, of Hughson.

The collision happened around 4:15 p.m. Tuesday at the
intersection of Walnut Avenue and Bradbury Road. The intersection forms a T
with Walnut ending at Bradbury and an orchard on the other side.

Mata was driving a 2017 Toyota Corolla southbound on Walnut
approaching the intersection with Bradbury at a high rate of speed. According
to the CHP, Mata ran the stop sign and the painted white limit line and
proceeded into the intersection, just as Frost’s vehicle was entering into the
intersection.

Frost was driving a 2000 Toyota Tacoma westbound on Bradbury
and was traveling at approximately 55 miles per hour, the CHP reported.
Bradbury does not have a stop sign at the intersection.

The front of Frost’s Tacoma broadsided the driver’s side of
Mata’s Corolla. The force of the impact sent both vehicles spinning out of
control until colliding with a wooden post and metal cable fence. The Tacoma
continued southbound along the shoulder before coming to a stop.

Mata’s vehicle spun into an orchard and struck a walnut tree
front on. Mata had sustained fatal injuries in the crash and was pronounced
deceased at the scene.

Frost was pinned inside the truck. The Turlock Rural Fire
Department was dispatched to the scene and was extracted by the firefighters
and taken by air ambulance to Memorial Medical Center in Modesto with major
injuries.

Both the Mountain View Fire Department and the Turlock Fire
Department provided mutual aid during the incident.

It’s unknown at this time if alcohol or drugs were factors
in the collision. The investigation remains ongoing.